Flowmeter



June 20, 1944. R. R. DONALDSON 2,351,745

FLow METER Filed June 1o, 1940 2 sheets-sneu 1 June 20, 1944. R R DONALDSON 2,351,745

FLOW METER l Filed June 10, 1940 2 Sheefcs-Sheet 2 g1 i ATTORNEY Patented June 20, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcE 2,351,745 l p p' FLoWME'rER Robert R. Donaldson, Pittsburgh, Pa., assigner to J ehn. M. Hopwood, Mount Lebanon, Pa.

Application June 10, 1940, Serial No. 339,693

2 claims.

' duced across an orifice by the flow therethrough of a gaseous or fluid medium and developing a force the magnitude of which for any value of pressure drop shall be a. direct measureof the flow.

A further object of the invention is to provide a flow measuring device having an element responsive to the pressure difference across an oriflce produced by the flow of a. gaseous or liquid medium therethrough and means for increasing the resistance to movement of the pressure difference responsive element in accordance with the square root of the pressure drop, whereby each position of the pressure diierence responsive element will be a direct function of the flow producing the pressure difference across the orince.

The above and other objects of the invention and the many uses to which it may be put will be .Y

apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a view in vertical section taken on line I-I of Fig. 2; of a flow-measuring device embodying a form of the invention, parts thereof being shown in full;

Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation and partly in section, of the device in Fig. 1, as seen looking 'toward it in the direction of arrows II-II;

Fig. 31s a top plan view of the device;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged View in vertical section of an escapement valve of the device shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3; and v Fig. 5 is a more or less diagrammatic view of the device as connected to measure the flow of a liquid or gaseous medium in a pipe line or conduit. Throughout the drawings and the specification like reference characters indicate like parts.

The device which has been chosen for the purpose of illustrating what now appears to be a preferred embodiment of prises a housing I in which a pressure-sensitive element or diaphragm 2 is mounted and positioned to divide the interior of the housing into chambers 3 and 4; an escapement'valve 5 operathe invention, com-v tively connected to the diaphragm; a gradientproducing means 6 that yleldingly resists movement of the diaphragm in response to increasing pressure differentials imposed on the diaphragm and means 'I operatively connected to diaphragm 2 for so modifying the gradient imposed on the diaphragm by means 6 that each position of the diaphragm is directly proportional to the square root of the pressure differential acting on the diaphragm.

Since valve 5 is actuated by diaphragm 2, the value of the pressures which it establishes in a sending line 8 will be directly proportional to the square root of the pressure differential acting on diaphragm 2. Where the device is utilized to measure ow in a pipe line, as is explained further on in connection with the description of Fig. 5, diaphragm 2 is connected across an orifice in a pipe line so as to respond to the pressure drop across it. Means 1 operates to cause the diaphragm to assume' positions that are directly proportional to flow rather than pressure differential. Therefore, the pressure in pipe 8 will be proportional to flow rather than differential because the value of the pressure established in pipe 8 is directly proportional to the position of diaphragm 2.

By utilizing an indicating gauge, such as shown f at 8, to measure the pressure in line 8 and by calibrating the gauge in terms of flow, each position of the gauge indicating pointer on the gauge scale will be a direct reading of the rate of flow which caused the pressure differentials to which diaphragm 2 responded.

Diaphragm housing I is preferably circular (see Fig. 3) and made up of upper and lower parts 4Ill and Il respectively. Diaphragm 2 is mounted between these parts with the outer edge or margin thereof tightly clamped between them by means of a plurality of bolts I2. The inner portion of the diaphragm 1s clamped between stiff backing plates I3 and I4, so that it will not sag or buckle when external mechanical forces are applied to it.

The central portions of the diaphragm housing parts are apertured so that'a through bolt I5 may be passed through diaphragm 2, backing plates I3 and I4 and project outwardly through the top and bottom of the diaphragm housing. Bushings I8 are fitted over. the through bolt on each side of the diaphragm. The ends of these bushings engage sealing diaphragme I1. Diaphragms I1 are clamped to the upper and lower diaphragm housing parts I0 and II by means of clamping rings I8 that are secured to the diaphragm horsing parts by means of screws I9. The sealing diaphragms are iight and iiexible, offer substantially no resistance to movement of diaphragm 2, and are used merely to seal the apertures in hous- Aing parts i@ and H through which through bolt I5 passes. A nut 20 is threaded onto through bolt i5 and drawn up tightly whereby the central portion of ilexible diaphragm il which seals housing part i i is gripped pressure tight between the nut and bushings it.

A substantially C-shaped yoke 2l is secured at itslower end to the upper end of bolt i5 with a nut 22 so that the sealing diaphragm is gripped pressure tight between the yoke and upper bushing i6. The upper end of yoke 2l is provided with a conical or pointed lug 23 on which a link 2d is supported and operatively connected to valve 5. The lower face of the upper portion of yoke 2i is provided with a conically shaped lug 25 which bears on the top side of a beam or lever 26, one end of which is mounted on a knife edge or point bearing 2l supported on housing part l@ and the other end of which is connected to gradient means t. Yoke 2i and lever 2S are disposed within a box-like housing 28 formed on the upper housing part l and this box-like housing also supports the gradient means t and valve 5.

Gradient-producing means S comprises a relatively long spring 29 which is disposed within a tubular support 36 mounted on the top of housing 2S. The lower end of this spring is connected to the left-hand end of beam 2S and the upper end Cil of the spring is secured to a traveling nut 3i which l is threaded on an adjusting screw 32 which is journaled in a plug 33 mounted in and secured to the upper end of support 3E. r'he upper end of this screw is provided with a knob 3&1 by which the screw may be turned to advance the nut up or down within the tubular support and thereby vary the tension in spring 29. The traveling nut ls provided with lugs 35 which operate in guideways Se formed on the inside of tubular member til to prevent turning of the nut when adjusting screw 32 is turned one way or the other, depending on which way the nut is to move to obtain the desired or necessary tension in the spring.

Valve b comprises a body Si which is open at both ends and internally threaded to receive threaded hollow bushings 3d and 3d. Bushing @il is lnternallythreaded at its upper end to receive a supply pipe lli and isprovided with a port lll in its lower end through which pressure medium such as compressed air is admitted from the supply pipe to the interior of the valve body. The upper end of bushing 39 is provided with a port d?. through which pressure medium may escape from the interior or the valve body to the atmosphere. Link 2d extends into bushing 3@ on which a stem it formed at the lower end of valve element Il@ located within the valve body, rests.

Valve element it is provided with conical or tapered surfaces l5 and d6 at its opposite ends that cooperate with and control the rate of flow of air through ports di and 42, respectively. The

valve body is provided with an outlet port di that communicates with thev interior of the valve body and this port is connected to the sending line or pipe 3.

The upper end of valve element liti is provided with a stem or extension 49 that extends through the inlet port and serves to guide and position the valve element. A light compression spring 50 is disposed between the lower end of bushing 38 and a shoulder 5| formed on valve element M which tends to urge the valve element toward exhaust port 42.

assures Since bushings 38 and 39 are threaded into the opposite ends of the valve body they may be adjusted to predetermine the distance between the inlet port and the exhaust port and thereby hx the overall travel required of valve element et either to close the inlet port entirely and open the outlet port or vice versa.

When valve element ed is in its uppermost pcsition and closes inlet port di, any pressure in the sending line S and valve body di will-exhaust through exhaust port d2 to the atmosphere. 0f course, the air irst discharges into the box-like housing 2E from which it exhausts to the atmosphere through suitable openings 53 in the sides of the housing. When the pressure medium has exhausted to the atmosphere, the pressure within the valve body and in the sending line will be at the minimum value. If valve element (i6 is actuated to the other limit of its travel, that is to the position where the exhaust port is completely closed and inlet port di is wide open, the pressure established within the valve body and within the sending line will be at the mairi- :mum value of pressure in the supply pipe di. If valve element fili is positioned at some intermedi.- ate point, the pressure within the valve body and in sending line 8 will be proportional to the position of the throttling surfaces it and it of the valve element relative to the inlet and exhaust ports il and 42. Thus by positioning valve element liti at any point between its maximum limits the pressure delivered to the valve body and to the sending line il may be varied infinitesimally from minimum to the maximum or vice versa.

f The amount of travel ci valve element dll required either to close fully the inlet port or to close fully the exhaust port is relatively small and is of the order of one to two thousandths of an inch. Therefore, it will be apparent that diaphragm 2 will move only one to two thousandths of an inch to actuate valve element 36 throughout its full stroke. Y

Means l comprises a spring 5E which is connected at its upper end to the lower end of bolt l5 ,and at its lower end to an arm 55 of a bell crank 5, a lever El which is pivotably supported at one end on a stub shaft 5d and formed with a curved surface at its other end disposed to engage a roller` t@ journaled at the end of an arm @i of the bell crank. and a pressure-actuating device t2 for turning lever 5l on its shaft t. If the pressure-actuating device causes lever 5l to turn in the direction of arrow de it will be apparent that the bell crank will turn in the direction oi arrow 6d, that is in acounterclockwise direction and will relieve or decrease the tension in spring 55 in accordance with the shape of the curve of surface 5g. Ii this surface is made proportional to the square root of the pressure drop or differential to which diaphragm 2 responds, then the tension in spring E@ will vary with the square root of the pressure drop across the diaphragm because, as it will be later explained, lever 51 is positioned directly in accordance with the pressure sent out by valve E through sending line 8.

Spring 5B, bell crank 58, and lever El are disposed within a housing 88 on which the diaphragm housing I is also supported. The bell crank is mounted on a stub shaft 61 which is threaded into the back of the housing. Likewise, stub shaftl 58 is also threaded into the back wall oi' the housing.

Pressure-actuating device 82 is supported from assuthe under side of the housing 68 by means of screws B8. Device 62 comprises a two-part housing including a body 69 and a cap 10. A diaphragm 1l extends across the chamber within the housing and is clamped at its outer edge between the body and the cap. The central portion of the diaphragm is clamped between a anged plate 12 and a backing plate I3 disposed on opposite sides of the diaphragm and secured tightly together by means of a bolt 14. The diaphragm is urged downwardly by means of a compression spring 'l5 positioned as shown in Fig. 1. This spring has its lowerA end nested within the flange of plate 12 and its upper end bearing against the upper end of housing body 59.

In Figs. l and 5 the diaphragm is shown in its lowermost position. Therefore, it will be apparent that the tension of spring l is such that it has sufficient power to turn bell crank 56 to the position shown and impose maximum tension in spring 54. This maximum tension occurs when the pressure in chamber 16 of the diaphram housing is at its minimum value. The upper limit of movement of diaphragm 'il is limited bya flange ll formed on the interior of housing body 69. Therefore, as may be seen in the drawings,

lthe maximum upward movement of the dia-V phragm is represented by the space between the top of the flange of plate i2 and iiange 7l.

The characteristic stiffness of spring 'i5 is such that when the pressure within chamber 'it is inn creased from its minimum value to its maximum value, the spring will be compressed only the distance through which the diaphragm may move.

Chamber 76 is supplied with pressure by the sending line 8 through a pipe 18 leading to the interior of chambe`- 16. If it be assumed that the maximum pressure that can be established in line 8 is, say sixty pounds per square inch, then the maximum pressure that will be established in chamber 16 will also be sixty pounds per square inch. The area of the diaphragm is such that the diaphragm will make its full travel against the opposing force of spring l5.

If the flow-responsive device is to be utilized to translate the pressure drop across 'an orifice produced by the ilow through it ofa gaseous or liquid medium fluid, into an impulse whose magnitude shall be equal to 1c(P1-P2)1/2 (the flow though an orifice is equal to k\/P1-Pz where k is a proportionality constant and P1 is the pressure on the upstream side of the orifice and the Pz is the pressure on the downstream side) the shape of curved surface 59 of cam bar or lever 51 is made to correspond to the equation springs 54 and 29 on diaphragm 2 will be zero.,

In other words the pull of springs 54 and 29 on diaphragm 2 will be equal and opposite.

When the device is connected to a pipe line across an orifice to measure flow, the upper'side of diaphragm 2 will be exposed to the pressure on the upstream side of the orifice and the lower side of the diaphragm to the pressure on the downstream side. In order that the upper side of diaphragm 2 may be exposed to pressure, upper housing part l0 is provided with a tapped opening 'I9 to accommodate a pipe 80 which is threaded linto the opening. This pipe is connected to the flow pipe on the upstream side of the orifice. The lower diaphragm housing part il is provided with a tapped opening 8| into which a pipe 82 is threaded and this pipe is connected to the flow pipe at a point on the downstream side of the orice. The connections of the upper and lower diaphragm chambers to the upstream and downstream sides of an orice in a ow pipe are shown in Fig. 5, and the operation of my device will be readily understood from this view.

In Fig. 5 a pipe 83 is shown through which a gaseous or liquid medium flows and which is provided with an orifice 84 which produces a pressure drop that varies with the flow. Pipe 8D of the flow-responsive device is connected to the upstream side of the orifice and pipe 82 is connected to the downstream side of the orice. Thus, the upper side of diaphragm 2 is exposed to a pressure P1 and the lower side thereof is subjected to a pressure P2, pressure P2 being less than pressure P1 whenever there is a ow in the pipe line.

If we assume that from a condition of zero ow, and ilow commences and produces a pressure'diierence Pi-Pg, diaphragm 2 will deflect downwardly and move valve element 44 away from its inlet port 4I and allow air orpressure medium to iiow into valve body 3l, sending pipe 8 and chamber 'E6 of actuating device 62. The pressure in chamber i6 causes diaphragm 'll to move upwardly whereby lever 5l is turned in a clockwise direction an amount proportional to the pressure introduced into chamber 76, thereby causing bell crank 56 to turn counter-clockwise or in the direction of arrow 65. The tension in spring 5t and the value of the force it exerts in opposition to spring 29 are both reduced so that spring 29 will be effective to exert a greater upward pull or force on diaphragm 2. Diaphragm 2 will then move upward slightly until the total force of the pressure difference (P1-P2) and the downward force of spring 54 on diaphragm 2 balance the upward force of spring 29. When this occurs the pressure in pipe 8 will be proportional to \/vP1-Pz and be a direct measure of the particular rate of ow which produced the pressure differential (P1-P2).

As the flow in pipe 83 increases to greater and greater values, the difference between the pressure difference- (Pi-Pz) will likewise increase. Therefore the force tending to push diaphragm 2 downwardly will increase as this pressure difference increases. With each additional downward movement of diaphragm 2, that is for each new position that diaphragm 2 assumes in the downward direction, there will be a new and different higher pressure established in chamber 16 of actuator 62 so that cam bar 5l will come to a different position in the direction of travel of arrow 63 for each new value of (P1-P2). This will rsult in a different value of tension in spring 54 for each value of (P1-P2). That is, for each position o1' cam bar 51 as it moves in the direction of arrow 63 the tension of spring 54 will be diminished in accordance with the equation smh/x. Since the curve of cam surface 59 is such that it will modify the characteristic or gradient of spring 29, spring awill resist downward movement of the diaphragm 2 in accordance with \/Pi-Pa. Therefore each position of diaphragm 2, instead of being proportional to the pressure drop (Pi-P2) will be proportional to the square root o this pressure drop or to \/P1P2. Since this 'is so, it follows that the pressure in pipe 8, the sending pipe, will be proportional to the .position of diaphragm 2 and therefore proportional to #Pi-P2.

The above-described action will continue with increasing ows until the maximum fiow that the device can measure has been reached. When the iiows decrease the device operates exactly in the reverse of the description of the operation described above.

From the above, it will be seen that by shaping I surface 59 ofcam bar to correspond to the equation y=\/:c or y=IIc\/ that the pressure impulse sent out through pipe 8 by valve 5 will be proportional to the square root of the pressure. drop acting on diaphragm 2. From this it will be apparent that the shape of cam surface 59 will determine the relationship between the pressure in pipe 8 to the pressure drop acting on diaphragm 2. Thus, for example by shaping cam surface 59 in accordance with the equation y=.'c, n may be made greater or less than unity and a pressure in the sending pipe 6 may be produced that is proportional to (Pr-Pv and that n may be either greater than one or less than unity.

' Having thus described the principles of the in.-

' vention and having illustrated and described a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be apparent that various modifications and changes may be made in the invention without departing either from the spirit or the scope thereof.

Therefore, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent ls:

1. 'A pressure-responsive device adapted to respond to a pressure difference (Pi-P2) and to establish another pressure whose value is proportional to the (nth) power of (P1-P2) where the value of n" may be greater or less than unity, said device comprising a housing having a pressure-sensitive member therein, said housing having means whereby one side of the 4sensitive member may be subjected to one pressure and the other side thereof may be subjected to another pressure, a spring connected to oppose movement of said pressure-sensitive member in response to increasing values of (P1-P2) and having a positive gradient characteristic, valve means actuated by said pressure-sensitive member adapted to deliver a pressure medium to a pressure sending lineand to cause the value of pressure to vary with the position of. the valve as determined by the deiiection of the pressuresensitive member, and means for varying the force exerted by said opposing spring comprising a spring connected to said pressure-sensitive member and exerting a force opposing the force of the first mentioned spring, and means for decreasing the tension in said second mentioned spring in accordance with the (nth) power of (P1-Pz).

2. A pressure-responsive device adapted to respond to a pressure dierence (P1-Pz) and to establish another pressure whose value is proportional to the (nth) power of (Pi-P2) where the value of n may be greater or less than unity, said device comprising a housing having a pressure-sensitive member therein, said housing having means whereby one side of the sensitive member may be subjected to one pressure and the other side thereof may be subjected to another pressure, a spring connected to oppose movement of said pressure-sensitive member n response to increasing values of (P1-Pz) and having a positive gradient characteristic, valve means actuated by said pressure-sensitive member adapted to deliver a pressure medium to a pressure sending line and to cause the value of pressure to vary with the position oi' the valve as determined by the deflection oi the pressure-sensitive member, and means for modifying the eective force exerted by said opposing spring comprising a movable support, a spring having one end connected to said pressure-sensitive member in opposing relation to said first mentioned spring and the other end connected to said movable support whereby as the support is moved the tension in said spring is varied, a cam for moving said support, and a pressure-actuated member responsive to the sending pressure for moving the cam, the surface of the cam having a curve whose ordinates are proportional to the (nth) power of (P1-Pz), the cam being so mounted that the force exerted by the spring connected to the movable support is varied inversely in accordance with the changes in (Pi-Pa).

ROBERT R. DONALDSON. 

